Modular tracking device

ABSTRACT

Techniques and examples pertaining to a tracking method using a two-component tracking device are described. The tracking device includes two components paired with one another: a first component that is specific to a subject the tracking device is intended to track, and a second component that is generic. The second component is capable of establishing a wireless connection with a cellular network, as well as collecting location information of the second component itself. The tracking method involves receiving from the cellular network a set of requirements associated with the subject, and triggering an action based on the set of requirements and the location information collected. The tracking method enables tracking of multiple subjects without a pairing mistake. Namely, a mismatch between multiple subjects to be tracked and multiple tracking devices intended to track the subjects can be avoided.

BACKGROUND

Tracking devices can be employed to track subjects or items that arefrequently moving, easily lost, or often misplaced. For example, itemssuch as wallets, remote controllers, car keys, or cellular phones areoften misplaced in or around a house, and thus become difficult to findwhen needed. Valuable personal items that people bring with them, suchas purses, backpacks, luggage cases, coats, bikes, skis, or golf clubs,when going places or doing outdoor sports, may be stolen orunintentionally taken by someone else. A subject of tracking(hereinafter referred as a “tracking subject”, or simply “subject”) maybe an inanimate thing as mentioned above, or a living creature such as aperson or an animal Such a subject may be located or otherwise trackedusing a tracking device that is physically attached to, or co-locatedwith, the subject. The tracking device is capable of transmitting orreporting the immediate location of the subject using a wireless signal.A tracking system may receive the wireless signal to locate and trackthe subject.

A tracking scenario may involve tracking of multiple subjects. For eachsubject to be tracked, a corresponding tracking device (hereinafterinterchangeably referred as a “tracker”) is needed. Each tracker has anidentification that can be used to distinguish the tracker from othertrackers. The identification of the tracker can be included in thewireless signal along with the immediate location of the subject. Plus,each tracker is associated with a subject to be tracked through aone-to-one correspondence, which is typically manually configured. Theone-to-one correspondences between trackers and subjects being trackedare often saved in the tracking system in the form of a look-up table.Thus, the tracking system would be able to identify which wirelesssignal represents which subject. For example, a household may have aremote controller for controlling a television (TV), and a remotecontroller for controlling an air conditioning unit (A/C). In order totrack both remote controllers so that they can be readily found whenneeded, two trackers are required: a first tracker that is physicallyattached to the TV remote controller for tracking the TV remotecontroller, and a second tracker that is physically attached to the A/Cremote controller for tracking the A/C remote controller. Each of thefirst and second trackers is able to transmit a respective wirelesssignal that conveys information of an immediate location of the tracker,as well as its respective identification. Since the two tracking devicesare co-located with the two remote controllers, respectively, thewhereabouts of the remote controllers would be made known to a trackingsystem that receives the wireless signals transmitted from the trackingdevices. A user can thus access the tracking system for this informationto locate the remote controllers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The detailed description is described with reference to the accompanyingfigures. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference numberidentifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. Thesame reference numbers indicate similar or identical items.

FIG. 1 shows an illustrative tracking scenario and network architecturefor tracking multiple subjects using two-component tracking devices.

FIG. 2 shows illustrative details for a communication componentimplementable to the tracking scenario of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows illustrative details for a mechanical receptacle of thecommunication component of FIG. 2, as well as a mechanical shapereceived by the mechanical receptacle.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of an illustrative process for implementingtechniques that enable various tracking functions in the trackingscenario of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This disclosure is directed to devices, systems, and techniques forenabling tracking of a subject using a modular tracking device thatencompasses at least two components: a subject identifier component thatcarries an identification of the subject, as well as a communicationcomponent that had been generic until being paired with the subjectidentifier component to form the tracking device. Moreover, once thetracking device is successfully established to track the subjectconsistent with one or more embodiments variously described herein,functionalities of the tracking device can be automatically configuredor otherwise customized according to a set of requirements specific tothe tracking subject and/or a user of the tracking device. As explainedbelow, since the communication component is generic by itself, themodular tracking device is not susceptible to a problem oftracker-subject mismatch that is common to existing, non-modular,tracking devices.

For non-modular tracking devices, a practical problem of “pairingmistake”, or “tracker-subject mismatch”, may arise in a trackingscenario that involves multiple subjects being tracked simultaneouslyusing as many tracking devices. Typically, each of the tracking devicescontains a battery that provides its power, and thus needs to betemporarily detached from the corresponding subject (i.e., the subjectthe tracker is associated with and attached to) from time to time forreplacing or recharging the battery. In an event that multiple trackersare detached from subjects for battery replacement or recharging, it ispossible that some of the trackers are swapped or mixed up and end upbeing attached to wrong subjects by mistake after the batteryreplacement/recharging, resulting in a pairing mistake. Namely, apairing mistake emerges when there is a tracker-subject mismatch, i.e.,when a tracking device is attached to a subject that is not associatedwith the tracking device as listed in the look-up table saved at thetracking system. In the example of the remote controllers as describedabove, assume that the two tracking devices are swapped by mistake(i.e., the first tracking device, which is supposed to be attached tothe TV remote controller according to the one-to-one correspondence inthe loop-up table, is attached to the A/C remote controller instead,whereas the second tracking device, which is supposed to be attached tothe A/C remote controller according to the one-to-one correspondence inthe look-up table, is attached to the TV remote controller). Thetracking system would still, based on the look-up table, identify thelocation reported by the first tracking device as the location of TVremote controller, even though in reality the location reported by thefirst tracking device is actually the location of the A/C remotecontroller, as the first tracking device is attached to the A/C remotecontroller by mistake. Likewise, the tracking system would identify thelocation reported by the second tracking device as the location of A/Cremote controller, whereas it is indeed the location of the TV remotecontroller.

The problem of tracker-subject mismatch becomes worse when the number ofsubjects being tracked becomes larger. For example, a farm owner mayhave a need to track cattle of hundreds of cows. That means hundreds oftrackers may need to be periodically detached from the cows for batteryrecharging. It would be nearly impossible to ensure every one of thehundreds of trackers, after being detached from the cows and recharged,is again correctly attached to the cow that the tracker is intended totrack, as specified by the one-to-one correspondence recorded in thelook-up table. In general, for practical purposes, pairing mistakesbetween non-modular trackers and subjects are difficult to avoid inscenarios where many subjects are intended to be tracked. In contrast, amodular tracking device disclosed herein is free from a pairing mistakeor a tracker-subject mismatch.

In accordance with example embodiments, a modular tracking deviceincludes a communication component and a subject identifier component.The two components are two distinct parts that are physically separable.Specifically, the two components are co-located in one place, and pairedwith one another, when tracking a subject; yet they can be separatedfrom one another in two places when not in a tracking mode. Thecommunication component is capable of collecting information regardingits own location and transmitting the location information via awireless signal (e.g., through a wireless communication channel that thecommunication component has established with a cellular network). Thesubject identifier component includes or otherwise stores anidentification that identifies a subject. For each subject to betracked, a respective subject identifier component is needed. Thecommunication component, on the other hand, may be generic. That is, thecommunication component, by and in itself, may not include anidentification of any subject, and thus is able to pair with differentsubject identifier components to form different tracking devices fortracking different subjects.

The communication component may include a battery as a power source, andthe tracking device may be designed such that most of the powerconsumption of the tracking device (e.g., due to activities such ascollecting the location information and/or sending the wireless signal)is drawn from the battery. The subject identifier component, on theother hand, is designed to consume very little or even no power.Therefore, the subject identifier component can remain attached to orotherwise co-located with the subject for a long or even an indefiniteperiod of time without a concern of running out of power; in exampleembodiments, it is only the communication component that may need to beperiodically detached from the subject for replacing or recharging thebattery therein. This feature can prevent tracker-subject mismatches inthe scenario where multiple subjects are to be tracked. For example,multiple communication components, which are all generic, can bearbitrarily attached to the subjects, one communication component to arespective one subject. Each communication component then pairs with thesubject identifier component that remains attached to the respectivesubject to form a tracking device for tracking the specific subject. Thepairing of multiple generic communication components to multiple subjectidentifier components to form multiple tracking devices each tracking aspecific subject eliminates the problem of tracker-subject mismatchaltogether.

When tracking a particular subject, both the communication component andthe subject identifier component are co-located with the subject. Asmentioned above, the subject identifier component stores or otherwisecarries a subject identification that identifies the subject. Thecommunication component pairs with the subject identifier component toobtain the subject identification of the subject from the subjectidentifier component. The communication component may periodicallytransmit to a tracking system a wireless signal that contains orotherwise represents the location information and the identification ofthe subject. Since the tracking device (i.e., the combination of thecommunication component and the subject identifier component) isco-located with the subject, the tracking system is thus able to trackthe whereabouts of the subject based on the wireless signal received.

In addition to providing the whereabouts of the subject, the trackingdevice may, as noted in greater detail further below, be customized toperform other tracking functions tailored to various needs of thesubject. Specifically, via the communication component, the trackingdevice may wirelessly receive one or more requirements that reflect thesubject's needs. Based on the requirements and the location information,the tracking device can trigger an action to meet a need of the subject.The action can, for example, be performed by the tracking device itself,i.e., by the communication component, the subject identifier component,or a combination of both. Alternatively or additionally, the action canbe performed by an environment within which the subject is located, suchas an apparatus that is in a vicinity of the subject or can interactwith the subject. For example, the tracking device may trigger a lightsource to provide a higher level of illumination to the subject, or adoor to open for the subject to travel through.

Example Architecture and Operation Principles

FIG. 1 shows an illustrative tracking scenario 100 and networkarchitecture for tracking multiple subjects. In the tracking scenario100, four subjects are intended to be tracked: a pedestrian 110, avehicle occupant 120, and animals 130 and 140. The pedestrian 110 ismoving between two locations 116 and 117 along a predetermined route118. The vehicle occupant 120 is seated in a vehicle 126 that travelsalong a trajectory 128. The animals 130 and 140 are free to move withinan environment, which includes an apparatus 136. Solely for purposes ofillustration and by no means limiting the scope of the presentdisclosure, the pedestrian 110 may be a child who is supposed to leave ahouse 116 for a school 117 in the morning, and to return to the house116 from the school 117 in the afternoon, along the predetermined route118. The vehicle occupant 120 may be an adult who rides the vehicle 126either as a driver or a passenger. Both animals 130 and 140 may be petsof a household, and the apparatus 136 may be a pet food dispenser thatis used to dispense pet food to pets 130 and 140.

As subjects intended to be tracked, each of the child 110, the adult120, the pet 130 and the pet 140 has a subject identifier component,labeled as numerals 111, 121, 131 and 141, respectively, that isco-located with the respective subject. For example, the subjectidentifier component 111 co-located with the child 110 may be a backpackthat is carried by the child on a school day; the subject identifiercomponent 121 co-located with the adult 120 may be an arm band worn bythe adult 120; the subject identifier component 131 co-located with thepet 130 may be a collar worn by the pet 130; similarly, the pet 140 maybe wearing a collar 141 as a subject identifier component.

Each of the subject identifier components 111, 121, 131 and 141 includesa subject identification that identifies the respective subject. Thesubject identification may be, for example, a serial number thatidentifies the respective subject. In some embodiments, the subjectidentification may be stored, carried, or otherwise included in thesubject identifier component in the form of a radio-frequencyidentification (RFID) tag or a near-field communication (NFC) tag. Insome embodiments, the subject identification may be digitally stored inmemory or a data store contained in the subject identifier component. Insome embodiments, the subject identification may be represented by amechanical shape, such as mechanical pins of different lengths. In thetracking scenario 100, the subject identifications included in thebackpack 111, the arm band 121, and the collars 131 and 141 aredifferent from each other so that each of the tracking subjects (i.e.,the child 110, the adult 120, and the pets 130 and 140) can be uniquelyidentified using the subject identification included in the respectivesubject identifier component.

In order to form a tracking device that works, each of the subjectidentifier components 111, 121, 131 and 141 needs to be paired with acommunication component that is co-located with the correspondingsubject identifier. Since the communication component and the subjectidentifier component are co-located with the corresponding trackingsubject, the two components may use a short-range communicationprotocol, such as NFC, RFID, Bluetooth® (BT) or Bluetooth® low energy(BLE), to pair with one another. The pairing involves the communicationcomponent having access to the subject identification that is stored,carried, or included in the subject identifier component. In someembodiments, the pairing involves the communication component obtainingthe subject identification from the subject identifier component. Oncepaired, the communication component and the corresponding subjectidentifier component together form a tracking device for tracking thesubject identified by the subject identification.

In an example embodiment encompassed by the tracking scenario 100, acommunication component 112 is placed in or attached to the backpack 111carried by the child 110. The backpack 111 carries a subjectidentification that identifies the child 110, and the communicationcomponent 112 is paired with the backpack 111 to form a tracking devicefor tracking the child 110. For the adult 120, a communication component122 is disposed in the vehicle 126 that transports the adult 120 whowears the arm band 121. The arm band 121 carries a subjectidentification that identifies the adult 120, and the communicationcomponent 122 is paired with the arm band 121 to form a tracking devicefor tracking the adult 120. Likewise, for the pet 130, a communicationcomponent 132 is placed in or attached to the collar 131 worn by the pet130. The collar 131 carries a subject identification that identifies thepet 130, and the communication component 132 is paired with the collar131 to form a tracking device for tracking the pet 130. Similarly, acommunication component 142 is placed in or attached to the collar 141worn by the pet 140, and the communication component 142 is paired withthe collar 141 to form a tracking device for tracking the pet 140.

In some example embodiments, the pairing between a communicationcomponent and a subject identifier component may employ a short-rangecommunication protocol that is effective over only a short range. Acommunication component automatically pairs with a subject identifierwhen the distance between the communication component and the subjectidentifier component is within the short range. Alternatively, acommunication component may be manually paired with a subject identifiercomponent. For example, a user may press either a button on thecommunication component, or a button on the subject identifiercomponent, or both buttons simultaneously, to pair the two components toone another. Once a communication component is paired with a firstsubject identifier component, the communication component is notavailable to pair with a second subject identifier component until thecommunication component is unpaired from the first subject identifiercomponent.

Likewise, a communication component automatically becomes unpaired whenthe distance between the communication component and a nearest subjectidentifier component exceeds the short range of the short-rangecommunication protocol. Alternatively, a communication component may bemanually unpaired with a subject identifier component even if thecommunication component and the subject identifier component arecurrently paired with one another. For example, a user may press eithera button on the communication component, or a button on the subjectidentifier component, or both buttons simultaneously, to unpair the twocomponents from one another.

Once a communication component is unpaired from a subject identifiercomponent, it becomes generic. That is, a generic communicationcomponent is no longer paired with a subject identifier component totrack any subject. A generic communication component is thus availableto pair with any subject identifier component to form a tracking device.Therefore, in a multi-tracking-subject scenario, a number of genericcommunication components can be randomly attached to, or put togetherwith, the tracking subjects for tracking, thereby eliminating theproblem of pairing mistakes, i.e., tracker-subject mismatches. Forexample, in the scenario 100, the child 110, the adult 120, as well asthe pets 130 and 140 may belong to a same household and live in thehouse 116. Each of the communication components 112, 122, 132 and 142may have a battery that provides the power source. During the nighttime, the communication components 112, 122, 132 and 142 may be detachedand unpaired from the subject identifier components (i.e., the backpack111, the arm band 121, and the collars 131 and 141) for recharging thebatteries therein. The communication components 112, 122, 132 and 142remain generic as they are being charged. The next morning, after thebatteries have been charged, the child 110 and the adult 120 may eachpick up any one of the generic communication components 112, 122, 132and 142 before leaving the house 116. Even if a communication componentdifferent from the one used in the previous day is picked up, thecommunication component, being generic when picked up, can still pairwith the backpack 111 or the arm band 121 to track the child 110 or theadult 120 without having a pairing mistake. Similarly, any of thegeneric communication components 112, 122, 132 and 142 can be attachedto the collar 131 to track the pet 130, which wears the collar 131, andto the collar 141 to track the pet 140, which wears the collar 141.

Each of the communication components 112, 122, 132 and 142 is capable ofcollecting a location information of itself, which is substantiallyequivalent to a location information of the tracking subject, as thecommunication component, when in the tracking mode, is co-located withthe tracking subject. In some embodiments, the location information mayinclude a geolocation of the communication component. The communicationcomponent may be able to triangulate its immediate location usinglocation information of nearby cellular towers of a cellular network,such as cellular towers 161 and 162. Alternatively or additionally, thecommunication component may determine its own immediate location usingone or more of various positioning or geolocating techniques, such asglobal positioning system (GPS), global navigation satellite system(GLONASS), Wi-Fi positioning system (WPS), or Internet geolocation. Insome embodiments, the location information may also includecharacteristics of a movement of the communication component, such as aspeed, a direction, an acceleration/deceleration, or a motion pattern(e.g., whether the tracking subject may be running, jogging, walking,jumping, or riding a vehicle). In some embodiments, the locationinformation may further include an altitude of the communicationcomponent.

In addition to being capable of collecting the location information, thecommunication components 112, 122, 132 and 142 are also capable ofestablishing wireless connections 115, 125, 135 and 145, respectively,with a cellular network, which includes a plurality of base stations orcellular towers (e.g., the cellular towers 161 and 162), as well as acore network (e.g., the core network 163). Once the communicationcomponents are paired with the subject identifier components to haveaccess to the subject identifications of the subjects being tracked, thecommunication components transmit the subject identifications to thecellular network, and then receive one or more requirements associatedwith the tracking subjects in return. That is, each of the trackingsubject has a set of requirements associated with it, and thecommunication component co-located with the tracking subject wouldreceive the set of requirements from the cellular network in response tothe communication component transmitting the subject identification ofthe tracking subject to the cellular network. Specifically, the cellularnetwork further includes a tracking server 170 that is communicativelycoupled to the core network 163, and the set of requirements is suppliedto the communication component by the tracking server 170. The set ofrequirements is saved in a data store 171 that is communicativelycoupled to the tracking server 170. In an example embodiment, variousrequirements, tracking data, and/or additional information about thesubject can be stored on the subject identifier component and optionallylater updated from the cellular network, for example to enable thecommunication component to act or track in specific ways untilrequirements are confirmed or updated with information from the cellularnetwork. In general, the data store 171 serves as a database whichstores many sets of requirements, one set for each tracking subject.Therefore, there may be a first set of requirements associated with thechild 110, a second set of requirements associated with the adult 120, athird set of requirements associated with the pet 130, and a fourth setof requirements associated with the pet 140, all saved in the data store171. The core network 163 of the cellular network passes a subjectidentification transmitted from a communication component to thetracking server 170. Based on the subject identification, whichidentifies a particular tracking subject, the tracking server 170queries the data store 171 to fetch the set of requirements associatedwith the particular tracking subject from the data store 171. Thetracking server 170 subsequently sends the set of requirements to thecommunication component co-located with the particular tracking subject,e.g., via a communication link comprising the core network 163, thecellular tower 161, and one of the wireless connections 115, 125, 135and 145. Depending on the specifics of the set of requirements, thecommunication component may transmit the location information it hascollected to the tracking server 170 via the communication link. Thetracking server 170 may save the location information in the data store171. Various actions regarding the particular tracking subject can thenbe triggered by the tracking server 170 based on the locationinformation and the set of requirements. For example, the set ofrequirements may trigger an action that an immediate location of thecommunication component be reported periodically to the tracking server170 after the tracking subject enters or leaves a predetermined area.Various actions can also be triggered by the communication componentbased on the location information and the set of requirements. Namely,based on the location information and the set of requirements, eitherthe tracking server 170 or the communication component can determine anaction to be performed with respect to the tracking subject. The actioncan be performed by the tracking server 170, the communicationcomponent, the subject identifier component, or an environment withinwhich the tracking subject is located.

Take the tracking of the child 110 for example. The communicationcomponent 112 transmits the subject identification that identifies thechild 110 to the tracking server 170. Based on the subjectidentification, the tracking server 170 fetches from the data store 171one or more requirements associated with the child 110. Thecommunication component 112 then receives the one or more requirementsfrom the tracking server 170. A copy of the one or more requirements maybe saved in a memory cache of the communication component 112 such thatthey are available to the communication component 112 even if thewireless connection 115 is lost or interrupted later (e.g., the child110 may later travel to a region out of the communication coverage ofthe cellular network).

The one or more requirements associated with the child 110 may include amap specifying boundaries of a geographical area 119 within which thechild is allowed or expected to travel on a school day. The one or morerequirements associated with the child 110 may also include aninstruction to command the tracking device (i.e., the communicationcomponent 112, the backpack 111, or a combination of both) to triggercertain action or actions based on a location of the child 110 relativeto the geographical area 119. For example, the one or more requirementsmay command the communication component 112 to continuously orperiodically report the location information of the child 110 to thetracking server 170 should the child 110 leave the geographical area119.

The one or more requirements associated with the child 110 may bepreviously entered into the data store 171 by a care giver 180 of thechild 110, such as a parent of the child 110. The care giver 180 sendsto the tracking server 170 the one or more requirements, which can besaved in the data store 171, using either a user equipment (UE) 181(e.g., a cell phone, a tablet, or any other electronic device withwireless communication ability) or an interface terminal 182. The UE 181can establish a wireless connection to, for example, the cellular tower162 of the cellular network, which in turn is connected to the corenetwork 163 of the cellular network. The interface terminal 182 isconnected to the core network 163 via Internet 164. In some embodiments,the UE 181 may, instead of connecting to the cellular tower 162, connectto a wireless router 165 that can access the Internet 164. Each of thevarious connection paths described above can be a path used by the caregiver 180 to send the one or more requirements associated with the child110 to the tracking server 170 via the core network 163 of the cellularnetwork.

Assume that, as the child 110 travels, the communication between thecommunication component 112 and the tracking server 170 is notinterrupted and thus the communication component 112 is able to report,at least on a regular basis, the location information of the child 110to the tracking server 170. In this event, both the tracking server 170and the communication component 112 have the same information regardingthe child 110 to trigger an action, if needed. That is, both thetracking server 170 and the communication component 112 have access tothe location information of the child 110 as well as the one or morerequirements associated with the child 110. Therefore, both the trackingserver 170 and the communication component 112 are able to trigger anaction based on the location information of the child 110 and the one ormore requirements associated with the child 110. For example, inresponse to the child 110 traveling outside the geographical area 119,the tracking server 170 can, for example, send a notification in theform of a text message such as a Short Message Service (SMS) message, avoice mail, or an email message to the care giver 180. On the otherhand, the communication component 112 can, for example, trigger anaction to warn the child 110 that he or she is wandering outside thegeographical area 119, so that the child 110 may be reminded to returnto the route 118.

However, it is also possible that, for some reason, the wirelessconnection 115 has already been lost when the child 110 leaves thegeographical area 119. It follows that the location information of thechild 110 after the wireless connection 115 is lost would not beavailable to the tracking server 170. In this event, the tracking server170 may send a notification to the care giver indicating that thelocation information of the child 110 is no longer available, at leastto the tracking server 170. Nevertheless, the communication component112 is still functioning, still collecting the location information ofthe child 110, and still having access to the copy of the one or morerequirements of the child 110 that is saved in the memory cache of thecommunication component 112. Therefore, the communication component 112is still able to trigger actions based on the location information andthe one or more requirements, even if the wireless connection 115 hasbeen lost. For example, in response to the child 110 traveling outsidethe geographical area 119, the communication component 112 may use aspeaker included in the communication component 112 to generate a seriesof beeps or an alert sound to remind the child 110 to return to theroute 118.

As described above, the care giver 180 may send the one or morerequirements associated with the child 110 to the tracking server 170before the tracking of the child 110 commences. For example, the map ofthe geographical area 119 may be entered by the care giver 180 a fewdays before a school year begins for the child 110. In some embodiments,however, further requirements may be entered, or existing requirementsoverridden, concurrently as the tracking subject is being tracked. Forexample, on one particular school day, the child 110 may be going on afield trip from school 117 to a destination that is located outside thegeographical area 119. As the child 110 leaves the geographical area 119on the field trip, the tracking server 170 may send a text message tonotify the care giver 180 about the incidence of the child 110 leavingthe geographical area 119; meanwhile, the speaker of the communicationcomponent 112 may keep generating a beeping alert to remind the child110 to return within the geographical area 119, while the child 110 isstill on the field trip. Upon receiving the text message from thetracking server 170, the care giver 180 recalls that the child 110 isindeed scheduled for the field trip on that particular school day, andthe field trip would require the child 110 to travel out of thegeographical area 119. The care giver 180 then updates the requirementsin the data store 171 to make an exception to allow the child 110 toleave the geographical area 119 for the field trip on that particularday. The tracking server 170 then sends the updated requirementsassociated with the child 110 to the communication component 112. Basedon the updated requirements, the communication component 112 can forexample mute the beeping alert accordingly.

More aggressive actions can be triggered when the location informationindicates a possible danger of the child 110. For example, in additionto an immediate location of the child 110 that is outside thegeographical area 119, the location information collected by thecommunication component 112 also indicates an abrupt elevation drop,which may possibly be resulted from the child 110 having experienced aphysical fall. In response, the communication component 112 or thetracking server 170 can for example trigger the speaker of thecommunication component 112 to generate a loud siren sound to attractattention of anybody who happens to be near the child 110. The triggeredactions may further include the communication component 112 or thetracking server 170 sending a notification or making a phone call to theschool 117, a police department, and/or a rescue capacity, to informthem about the possible dangerous situation of the child 110. In anevent that the communication component 112, rather than the trackingserver 170, triggers an action, the communication component 112 maytransmit to the tracking server 170 via the wireless connection 115 anaction indication that indicates the triggering of the actions. Theaction indication may even include certain details of the actionstriggered.

In the example embodiment above, the generation of the beeping sound orthe loud siren sound is performed by the communication component 112. Insome embodiments, the action can instead be performed by the subjectidentifier component paired with the communication component 112, i.e.,the backpack 111, or by a combination of both the communicationcomponent 112 and the subject identifier component 111. For example,whereas the communication component 112 is usually small in size andthus not able to allow for a powerful speaker, let alone a high-capacitybattery feeding power to the powerful speaker, the backpack 111 can forexample be equipped with a bigger and more powerful speaker. Thebackpack 111 may be further equipped with a high-capacity battery thatserves as a power source for the bigger speaker. Accordingly, the actionof generating the beeping sound or the loud siren sound, as describedabove, can alternatively be performed by the bigger speaker of thebackpack 111, rather than by the small speaker of the communicationcomponent 112. This may be a more preferred approach, as the powerfulspeaker of the backpack 111, combined with the high-capacity battery ofthe backpack 111, is able to make the beeping or siren sound louder andlast longer. A further advantage is that the battery of thecommunication component 112 would thus not be drained by the generationof the sounds; rather, the electrical power therein is saved to sustainthe wireless connection 115 for a longer time before a recharge isneeded. In some embodiments, the communication component 112 isphysically hooked up with the backpack 111, and the high-capacitybattery of the backpack 111 can directly power the communicationcomponent 112, thereby being able to sustain the tracking of the child110 for an even longer time.

In order for the communication component 112 to take advantage of thepowerful speaker as well as the high-capacity battery that the backpack111 has, as noted earlier, such information needs to be communicated tothe communication component 112 beforehand Specifically, suchinformation is made known to the communication component 112 by thecommunication component 112 receiving a functionality profile from thebackpack 111 as part of the pairing process between the communicationcomponent 112 and the backpack 111. Specifically, the functionalityprofile explicitly describes a plurality of functionalities of thesubject identifier component. That is, the functionality profile storedor otherwise included in the backpack 111 explicitly describes that thebackpack 111 is equipped with a powerful speaker and a high-capacitybattery. The communication component 112 then transmits thefunctionality profile of the backpack 111, along with the subjectidentification that specifies the child 110, to the tracking server 170.The tracking server 170 queries the data store 171 using not only thesubject identification of the child 110, but also the functionalityprofile of the backpack 111, and the data store 171 responds to thetracking server 170 with one or more requirements associated with thechild 110 that involve utilizing the powerful speaker and/or thehigh-capacity battery of the backpack 111. Namely, the one or morerequirements further specify how the subject identifier component, i.e.,the backpack 111, is intended to be used in performing an action asdescribed earlier. The one or more requirements may have been enteredinto the data store 171 by the care giver 180, as noted above. Thecommunication component 112 subsequently receives the one or morerequirements from the tracking server 170, and triggers an action basedon the one or more requirements and the location information of thechild 110, as described earlier.

The functionality profile is stored, embedded, or otherwise included inthe backpack 111 similar to how the subject identification thatidentifies the child 110 is stored or included in the backpack 111. Adistinctive difference between a functionality profile and a subjectidentification that are stored in a particular subject identifiercomponent resides in that, whereas the subject identification identifiesa particular tracking subject and thus is uniquely associated with thatparticular tracking subject, the functionality profile is not uniquelyassociated with the particular tracking subject. Moreover, thefunctionality profile is not uniquely associated with the particularsubject identifier component, either. Rather, the functionality profileis universal for all subject identifiers of a same model. For example, acompany XYZ may have produced 5,000 backpacks of a particular model,say, model M678, and the backpack 111 is one of the 5,000 backpacksproduced. All of the 5,000 backpacks of that particular model have thesame functionality profile as the one stored in the backpack 111. Thefunctionality profile indicates that any backpack of the model M678 hasa speaker and a high-capacity battery available at a pairedcommunication component's disposal. Namely, any communication componentthat pairs with any one of the 5,000 backpacks of model M678 receivesthe same functionality profile from the backpack during the pairingprocess and can accordingly use the speaker or the high-capacity batteryof the backpack to perform certain action as described above.

The one or more requirements associated with the child 110 that arefetched from the data store 171 by the tracking server 170 may bedifferent for different functionality profiles. That is, the trackingserver 170 may fetch different requirements associated with the child110 depending on a specific functionality profile carried by the subjectidentifier component that is co-located with the child 110. For example,on a school day on which the child 110 does not bring the backpack 111,the child 110 may wear a wrist band as a subject identifier component.The wrist band contains the same subject identification that thebackpack 111 does, as both the backpack 111 and the wrist band identifythe same child 110. The wrist band contains neither a high-capacitybattery nor a powerful speaker but has a vibration motor. Accordingly,the care giver 180 enters one or more requirements that involves how thecare giver 180 intends to utilize the wrist band, e.g., turning on thevibrator as a reminder instead of generating a siren sound. Thus, withthe functionality profile embedded in the wrist band, the requirementsinvolving utilizing the vibrator would be fetched instead of therequirements involving utilizing the powerful speaker and thehigh-capacity battery of the backpack 111. As another example, the child110 may go to the school 117 by riding an electric scooter, anothersubject identifier component that contains the subject identificationthat identifies the child 110. The one or more requirements saved in thedata store 171 may thus include how the care giver would like to utilizethe electric scooter, e.g., shutting down the power of the electricscooter when the location information collected by the communicationcomponent 112 that pairs with the electric scooter indicates that thechild 110 may be traveling outside the geographical area 119. Moreover,the geographical area 119 may have different boundaries as compared towhen the communication component 112 pairs with the backpack 111,because the care giver 180 may allow or expect the child 110 to take aroute different from the route 118 when the child 110 goes to the school117 by riding the electric scooter.

In some embodiments, the communication component 112 may transmit alow-power or low-battery indication to the tracking server 170 when thebattery of the communication component 112 or the battery of thebackpack 111 is having a low battery level. The low-battery indicationmay specifically indicate whether it is the communication component 112or the subject identifier component 111 that is experiencing a lowbattery level. In an event that a low battery level is experienced whilethe child 110 is being tracked, the low-battery indication enables thetracking server 170 to expect a possible loss of wireless connection115, or a possible inability to perform certain actions (e.g.,generating a loud siren sound by the speaker of the backpack 111). Inaddition, the communication component 112 can also send the low-batteryindication via the cellular network to the care giver 180. Moreover, thecommunication component 112 can trigger an action (e.g., generating abeeping sound) to remind the child 110 about the low battery level, sothat the child 110 can replace or recharge the battery if possible.

Also tracked in the example tracking scenario 100 of FIG. 1 is the adult120. The communication component 122 disposed in or on the vehicle 126pairs with the arm band 121 worn by the adult 120 as soon as the adult120 enters or gets close to the vehicle 126. During the pairing process,the communication component 122 obtains from the arm band 121 thesubject identification that identifies the adult 120. The communicationcomponent 122 transmits the subject identification to the trackingserver 170 via the wireless connection 125. The tracking server 170subsequently fetches from the data store 171, based on the subjectidentification, one or more requirements associated with the adult 120,and transmits the one or more requirements to the communicationcomponent 122. Based on the location information and the one or morerequirements, the communication component 122 can trigger an action tobe performed with respect to the adult 120. In some embodiments, thecommunication component 122 may periodically or continuously report itslocation information to the tracking server 170. Based on the locationinformation received from the communication component 122 as well as theone or more requirements fetched from the data store 171, the trackingserver 170 can also trigger an action to be performed with respect tothe adult 120.

In one example tracking application of the adult 120, the one or morerequirements associated with the adult 120 may be a speed limit at whichthe adult 120 is allowed to operate the vehicle 126 as a driver. Thespeed limit associated with the driver 120 may vary depending on wherethe vehicle 126 is located, which can be inferred by the locationinformation collected by the communication component 122. The speedlimit may for example be higher if the driver 120 is driving the vehicle126 on a freeway, and lower if the driver 120 is driving the vehicle 126on a local street. The location information includes both a geolocationand a moving speed of the communication component 122. The communicationcomponent 122 can trigger an action based on the location informationand the one or more requirements. In an event that the communicationcomponent 122 constantly transmits the location information to thetracking server 170, the tracking server 170 can also trigger theaction. The action for example may be that, in an event that the vehicle126 is moving above the speed limit, the communication component 122sends a command to a speaker of the vehicle 126 to generate a sound or avoice message as a reminder to the driver 120 to reduce the speed of thevehicle 126. In some embodiments, the communication component 122 caneven send a command to bypass the driver 120 and directly control thedriving speed of the vehicle 126 to be below the speed limit Meanwhile,an action indication may be transmitted from the communication component122 to the tracking server 170 to indicate that the communicationcomponent 122 has deactivated the acceleration pedal of the vehicle 126and taken over driving speed thereof.

The adult 120 may be a driver who is in the process of developing a gooddriving habit of safe driving, so the one or more requirementsassociated with the adult 120 (e.g., the speed limit for the driver 120on a certain kind of road) may start with some lower value. The one ormore requirements are entered into the data store 171, prior to theadult 120 driving the vehicle 126, by the adult 120 himself/herself, orby a care giver 180, such as a driving coach of the adult 120. As theadult 120 becomes a safer driver over time, the speed limit may beupdated accordingly, for example to a higher allowed driving speed.

In some embodiments, the subject identifier, i.e., the arm band 121, hascertain functionalities other than carrying the subject identificationof the adult 120, which can be utilized to provide further trackingcapabilities. For example, the arm band 121 may include an actuator thatis able to vibrate or contract, and either the tracking server 170 orthe communication component 122 can command the actuator to vibrate orcontract as a reminder to the driver 120 to reduce a driving speed ofthe vehicle 126. This feature may be particularly useful in an eventthat the driver 120 has hearing impairment, or that the driver 120operates the vehicle 126 in a noisy environment where the driver 120 hasdifficulty perceiving a reminder in the form of a sound or a voice. Afunctionality profile included in the arm band 121 describes that thearm band 121 has the actuator available. The communication component 122obtains the functionality profile from the arm band 121 as part of thepairing process with the arm band 121. Based on the functionalityprofile, the communication component 122 can trigger the actuator togenerate the reminder to the driver 120 by actuating the actuator.

As another example, the arm band 121 may have a pulse sensor disposedthereon that is capable of measuring a rate of the heartbeat of thedriver 120, or a blood pressure sensor disposed thereon that is capableof measuring a blood pressure of the adult 120. The adult 120 may, dueto some medical problems, for example, be subject to having a low bloodpressure or a low pulse rate under certain conditions, which wouldadversely affect an ability of the adult 120 to safely drive the vehicle126. A functionality profile included in the arm band 121 describes thatthe arm band 121 is equipped with the pulse sensor or the blood pressuresensor. The communication component 122 obtains the subjectidentification of the adult 120 as well as the functionality profile ofthe arm band 121 during the pairing process with the arm band 121. Afterthe communication component 122 transmits both the subjectidentification and the functionality profile to the tracking server 170,the tracking server 170 fetches from the data store 171, based on boththe subject identification and the functionality profile, one or morerequirements associated with the adult 120. The one or more requirementsinclude a set of allowed driving speed limits under various healthconditions of the adult 120 as he or she operates the vehicle 126 as adriver. According to the one or more requirements, the maximum alloweddriving speed for the driver 120 varies not only based on an immediategeolocation of the vehicle 126, but also based on an immediate healthcondition of the driver 120. The immediate health condition of thedriver 120 is reflected on a pulse rate or a blood pressure reading ofthe driver 120, as measured by the pulse rate sensor or the bloodpressure sensor of the arm band 121. The communication component 122receives from the tracking server 170 the one or more requirementsassociated with the driver 120. Based on the one or more requirements,the communication component 122 can impose a varying speed limit to thevehicle 126 depending on an immediate pulse rate or the blood pressurereading of the driver 120 as provided by the arm band 121.

In another example tracking application of the adult 120, the vehicle126 is an autonomous car configured to serve different passengers, onepassenger at a time, including the adult 120. The one or morerequirements associated with the adult 120 as a passenger includesinformation regarding a destination to which the adult 120 intends togo. The information regarding the destination may be entered by theadult 120 or the care giver 180 prior to the adult 120 boarding thevehicle 126. After pairing with the arm band 121 and obtaining thesubjection identification that identifies the passenger 120, thecommunication component 122 transmits the subject identification to thetracking server 170, and in return receives from the tracking server 170the information regarding the destination. Based on the informationregarding the destination, as well as an immediate geolocation of thecommunication component 122 itself, an action can be triggered tocommand the autonomous vehicle 126 to take the passenger 120 to thedestination from the immediate geolocation.

In addition to providing a ride to take the passenger 120 to thedestination, the autonomous vehicle 126 also aims to make the ride assmooth and comfortable as the passenger 120 would like. For example, thepassenger 120 may want to avoid a bumpy ride, and the autonomous vehicle126 is, for example, configured to reduce its speed when driving over arough road surface. To achieve this end, the one or more requirementsassociated with the passenger 120 further includes a bumpiness level thepassenger 120 could tolerate during the ride, which might be specifiedusing a maximum value of acceleration/deceleration in one, two, or allthree axes of the Cartesian space as the vehicle 126 takes the passenger120 to travel along the trajectory 128 to the destination. In someembodiments, the communication component 122 may include varioussensors, such as one or more accelerometers and/or a 3-axis gyroscope,to sense the bumpiness the passenger 120 experiences along thetrajectory 128. That is, the communication component 122 is capable ofsensing a motion pattern, represented by the acceleration anddeceleration of the communication component 122, as part of the locationinformation it collects. In the event that the motion pattern exceedsthe maximum value of acceleration/deceleration specified in the one ormore requirements, the communication component 122 can trigger an actionby sending a command to the autonomous vehicle 126 to reduce the drivingspeed so as to mitigate the bumpiness the passenger 120 experiences. Insome alternative embodiments, the communication component 122 does notinclude the sensors. Rather, the various sensors are disposed to orotherwise included in the arm band 121. The arm band has a functionalityprofile embedded therein that describes the various sensors. Thecommunication component 122 obtains the functionality profile as part ofits pairing with the arm band 121 to know that the arm band 121 has suchsensors available, and subsequently utilizes the sensors bycommunicating to the arm band 121, as the vehicle 126 moves along thetrajectory 128, to obtain acceleration/deceleration readings from thesensors.

The autonomous vehicle 126 may serve many more passengers other than theadult 120, each passenger having a different set of requirements, e.g.,a different destination and/or a different level of bumpiness that thepassenger can tolerate. In some embodiments, the communication component122 can include a memory or data cache that stores the requirements foreach particular passenger after the communication component 122 receivesthe requirements from the wireless network. As a result, when aparticular passenger boards the vehicle 126 for the second time, thecommunication component 122 can access the passenger's requirements fromthe memory even if the wireless connection 125 cannot be established forthe moment.

Pets 130 and 140 are also among the tracking subjects in the exampletracking scenario 100 as illustrated in FIG. 1. Each of the pets 130 and140 is associated with a set of requirements saved in the data store171. A care giver of the pets, such as the care giver 180, may have sentthe requirements via either the UE 181 or the interface terminal 182 tothe tracking server 170 to be saved in the data store 171. The set ofrequirements may, for example, include a daily amount of pet foodprescribed to the respective pet. The pet 130 may be a big-size dog,which is prescribed to consume two pounds of pet food each day. On theother hand, the pet 140 may be a mid-size dog, which is prescribed toconsume one pound of pet food each day. The communication components 131and 141 are attached to, and paired with, the collars 131 and 141 thatare worn by the pets 130 and 140, respectively. The communicationcomponents 131 and 141 obtain from the collars 131 and 141 the subjectidentification that identifies the pet 130 and the subjectidentification that identifies the pet 140, respectively. In response tosending to the tracking server 170 the subject identification thatidentifies the pet 130, the communication component 132 receives, fromthe tracking server 170 and via the wireless connection 135, the dailyamount of pet food prescribed to the pet 130, i.e., two pounds.Likewise, in response to sending to the tracking server 170 the subjectidentification that identifies the pet 140, the communication component142 receives, from the tracking server 170 and via the wirelessconnection 145, the amount of pet food prescribed to the pet 140, i.e.,one pounds.

Each of the communication components 132 and 142 is capable ofcollecting location information of itself, which includes, for example,an immediate location and a motion pattern. The immediate location andthe motion pattern collected by communication component 132 representthose of the pet 130, as the communication component 132 is co-locatedwith the pet 130. Likewise, the location information collected bycommunication component 142 represents that of the pet 140. In someembodiments, the communication components 132 and 142 may respectivelytransmit the location information to the tracking server 170, which mayin turn relay the location information to the care giver 180 via the UE181 or the interface terminal 182, so that the care giver may know theimmediate locations and the motion patterns of the pets 130 and 140. Themotion patterns may indicate whether the pets are walking, running,jumping, immobile, or lying down. The motion pattern may be collected byvarious sensors embedded in the communication components 132 and 142,such as accelerometers or gyroscopes.

Both the pets 130 and 140 are located within an environment in whichthey are free to move around. The environment includes a pet fooddispenser 136 that is capable of dispensing pet food via an outlet 137.The set of requirements associated with the pet 130 further includes apredetermined proximity 139 around the pet food dispenser 136. It isintended that the pet food dispenser 136 dispenses pet food according tothe daily amount of food prescribed to the pet 130 when the pet 130stays within the proximity 139. For instance, in the event that thelocation information of the pet 130, as detected by the communicationcomponent 132, indicates that the pet 130 enters and stays within theproximity 139 for a predetermined period of time, the communicationcomponent 132 can trigger an action to dispense pet food. Specifically,the communication component 132 issues a command to the pet fooddispenser 136 to dispense an amount of pet food according to the dailyamount of pet food prescribed to the pet 130. Since the dispensed petfood is intended for the pet 130 not the pet 140, in some embodiments,the communication component 132 may not issue the command to dispensethe pet food until the location information collected by thecommunication component 142 indicates that the pet 140 is away from theproximity 139 by certain distance, so that a chance is lower for the pet140 to come and snatch away the dispensed pet food that is intended tobe consumed by the pet 130. The location information of the pet 140 canbe communicated from the communication component 142 to thecommunication component 132 via a peer-to-peer (P2P) communication linkestablished between the communication component 132 and thecommunication component 142, or via the wireless connections 135 and 145as well as at least the cellular tower 161 of the cellular network.

In some embodiments, the set of requirements associated with the pet 130also includes a per-dispense amount of the pet food that the pet fooddispenser 136 dispenses to the pet 130 each time. That is, the pet fooddispenser 136 does not dispense all of the daily amount of the pet foodprescribed to the pet 130 in one dispense. Rather, the pet fooddispenser 136 dispenses the daily amount of the pet food prescribed tothe pet 130 in several dispenses, each time dispensing only theper-dispense amount of pet food. An action indication indicating adispense of pet food may be transmitted from the communication component132 to the tracking server 170 after each time the per-dispense amountof pet food is dispensed. The action indication may also include a timestamp indicating a time of a day the dispense is triggered. Based on theaction indications received, the tracking server 170 can keep track of atally of the pet food dispensed to the pet 130 during the day. In anevent that the tally has exceeds the amount of pet food prescribed tothe pet 130, the tracking server 170 can notify the communicationcomponent 132 to stop dispensing more pet food for the remaining of theday even if the pet 130 stays within the proximity 139.

Due to motions of a tracking subject, or for some other reasons, atracking device may occasionally be dislocated from the trackingsubject, and thus the location information collected by thecommunication component of the tracking device would not represent thatof the tracking subject. For example, as the pet 130 jumps or runs, thecollar 131, along with the communication component 132 attached thereon,may get loose and then separate from the pet 132. The communicationcomponent 132 is able to obtain, from sensors embedded in either thecommunication component 132 itself or the collar 131, a co-locationindication which indicates that the collar 131 and the communicationcomponent 132 remain co-located with the pet 130. In some embodiments,the communication component 132 may obtain the co-location indicationbased on the location information it collects. If the locationinformation includes a motion pattern of running or jumping, thecommunication component 132 would obtain the co-location indicationindicating that the collar 131 and the communication component 132 arestill attached to the pet 130. On the other hand, if the locationinformation does not demonstrate a motion pattern of moving for apredetermined long period of time, the co-location indication may not beobtained, which indicates that the tracking device might have beenseparated from the tracking subject. Additionally or alternatively, insome embodiments, the communication component 132 may obtain theco-location indication based on a physiological sign of the pet 130,which is sensed by a sensor embedded in either the collar 131 or thecommunication component 132. For example, the collar 131 or thecommunication component 132 may have a temperature sensor, such as aninfrared sensor or other types of thermometer, embedded thereon forsensing a body temperature of the pet 130. The collar 131 may also havea light sensor disposed on an inner side of the collar 131 for sensing alight intensity that the inner side of the collar 131 is exposed to. Inan event that the temperature sensor senses a sudden change intemperature reading, or that the light sensor senses a sudden change inthe light intensity, both of which could be resulted from the collar 131getting separated from the pet 130, the co-location indication wouldindicate that the tracking device (i.e., the combination of the collar131 and the communication component 132) does not remain physicallytogether with the tracking subject (i.e., the pet 130). Thecommunication component 132 may trigger an action further based on theco-location indication. In an event that the communication component 132does not obtain a co-location indication indicating that the trackingdevice remains co-located with the tracking subject 130, thecommunication component 132 may stop further dispensing of the pet foodeven if the location information it collects indicates an immediatelocation within the proximity 139. Moreover, the communication component132 may notify either or both of the tracking server 170 and the caregiver 180 that the tracking device may have been detached or separatedfrom the pet 130.

Example Apparatuses

FIG. 2 shows illustrative details of a communication component 200 thatcan be implemented as various communication components of FIG. 1 andsupport various functions described herein with respect to variousembodiments and application scenarios as noted above. One or moreinstances of the communication component 200 can, for example, form abasis for the communication components 112, 122, 132 and 142 fortracking subjects 110, 120, 130 and 140 of FIG. 1 through variousfunctions described with respect to the process 400 of FIG. 4.

The communication component 200 includes one or more processors 210, aswell as a portable power source, i.e., a battery 280. The communicationcomponent 200 also includes various hardware modules including acommunication module 220, a pairing module 230, and a positioning module240. The communication component 200 further has a memory 250 thatincludes (but is not limited to) the various software components shown.In some embodiments, the communication component 200 may include one ormore actuators 260 and one or more sensors 270. The actuators 260 andthe sensors 270 may include various kinds of actuators and sensors thatcan interact with a tracking subject. The actuators 260 may for exampleinclude a speaker, such as the speaker included in the communicationcomponent 112 as described above. The actuators 260 may also includeother types of actuators, such as a vibrator, a contraction motor, apneumatic valve, a flash light, a mechanical lock, or a heating/coolingelement. The sensors 270 may include a temperature sensor, an infraredsensor, or a thermometer, as those included in the communicationcomponent 132 as described above. Various functions provided by a sensorembedded in a subject identifier component in the tracking scenario 110may alternatively be provided by one or more of the sensors 270 instead.For example, unlike the collar 131 worn by the pet 130, the collar 141worn by the pet 140 may not be equipped with a light sensor, nor atemperature sensor. However, the communication component 142, which isembodied by the communication component 200 of FIG. 2, may include alight sensor and a temperature sensor among the sensors 270. Therefore,the light sensor and the temperature sensor, as part of the sensors 270of the communication component 142, can be utilized to sense a change inthe ambient temperature and light intensity in the same way as describedabove for the light sensor and the temperature sensor embedded in thecollar 131.

The positioning module 240 is capable of collecting location informationof the communication component 200. The location information includes animmediate geolocation of the communication component 200. Thepositioning module 240 includes a GPS receiver 241 capable ofdetermining the immediate geolocation by receiving GPS satellitesignals. The positioning module 240 also includes a cellular positioningcomponent 242 that is able to triangulate the immediate geolocationusing location information of nearby cellular towers of the cellularnetwork (e.g., cellular towers 161 and 162) along with relative cellularsignal strengths from those cellular towers. The positioning module 240may further include components using other geolocating techniques suchas Wi-Fi positioning or Internet geolocation, for example a WPS locator243. As shown in FIG. 2, the positioning module 240 also includes a WPScomponent capable of determining the immediate geolocation through aWi-Fi positioning system. In some embodiment, the location informationmay also include a motion pattern of the communication component 200.The motion pattern indicates whether the tracking subject may berunning, jogging, walking, jumping, riding a vehicle, or is involved inother kinds of motion. The positioning module 240 is capable ofdetermining the motion pattern based on inputs from one or moreaccelerometers 244 and one or more gyroscopes 245.

The pairing module 230 is capable of pairing the communication component200 with a subject identifier component (e.g., the backpack 111, the armband 121, the collar 131, or the collar 141 of FIG. 1) to form atracking device. The subject identifier component includes a subjectidentification that identifies a tracking subject (e.g., the child 110,the adult 120, the pet 130, or the pet 140 of FIG. 1). The pairingbetween the communication component 200 and the subject identifiercomponent enables the tracking device to track the tracking subjectidentified by the subject identification. As described in greater detailfurther below, the pairing module 230 is able to pair with the subjectidentifier component when the subject identifier component ismechanically engaged with, or within a vicinity of, the communicationcomponent 200 so that a corresponding wired or wireless communicationlink between the pairing module 230 and the subject identifier componentis established, at least for a certain period of time. Through the wiredor wireless communication link, the pairing module 230 obtains thesubject identification from the subject identifier component. As notedelsewhere herein, in some embodiments, the subject identifier componentalso includes a functionality profile, which describes variousfunctionalities of the subject identifier component. Through the wiredor wireless communication link, the pairing module 230 also obtains thefunctionality profile from the subject identifier component. Thecommunication component 200 and the subject identifier component remainpaired with one another as long as the communication link therebetweenremains established. On the other hand, the communication component 200and the subject identifier component become unpaired from one anotherafter the communication link therebetween has failed for a predeterminedperiod of time. A wired communication link may fail when thecommunication component 200 is physically disconnected from the subjectidentifier component. A wireless communication link may fail toestablish when the communication component 200 is apart from the subjectidentifier component farther than a range over which the pairing module230 can effectively communicate.

As noted elsewhere herein, the communication link for pairing thecommunication component 200 with the subject identifier can employ ashort-range communication protocol, such as NFC, RFID, BT or BLE. Thesubject identification embedded in the subject identifier component canbe embodied as a RFID tag or an NFC tag, or stored in a memory of thesubject identifier component. Therefore, the pairing module 230 employsvarious short-range transceivers capable of establishing a short-rangecommunication link with the subject identifier component. As shown inFIG. 2, the pairing module 230 includes a RFID reader 232 capable ofreading a subject identification taking a form of a RFID tag that isembedded in a subject identifier component, as well as an NFCtransceiver 234 capable of reading a subject identification taking aform of an NFC tag that is embedded in a subject identifier component.The pairing module 230 further includes a BT/BLE transceiver 236 capableof reading a subject identification stored in a memory embedded in asubject identifier component.

In some embodiments, a subject identifier component and a communicationcomponent may be paired with one another through a mechanical means, anelectro-mechanical means, or an opto-mechanical means. For example, thepairing module 230 includes a mechanical receptacle 238, which is asub-component configured to receive a mechanical shape included in ordisposed on a subject identifier component. The mechanical shaperepresents a subject identification that identifies a tracking subject.The mechanical receptacle 238 may be embodied by a mechanical receptacle320 of FIG. 3, which is configured to receive a mechanical shape 310 ofa subject identifier component. As shown in FIG. 3, the mechanical shape310 has slots 311, 312, 313, 314 and 315, each having a specific depththat represents a respective digit of a subject identification thatidentifies a particular tracking subject. The subject identificationrepresented by the mechanical shape 310 may be a 5-digit number “13201”.When received by or otherwise mechanically engaged with the mechanicalreceptacle 320, the depths of the slots 311-315 can be sensed orotherwise detected by the mechanical receptacle 320, such that thesubject identification “13201” is obtained by the communicationcomponent 200. Namely, the mechanical receptacle 320 has a mechanism ofdetecting the depths of the slots 311-315, thereby obtaining the subjectidentification.

Specifically, the mechanical receptacle 320 is provided with five pins321, 322, 323, 324 and 325 of a same length, each of which is supportedby one of five identical springs 361, 362, 363, 364 and 365,respectively. Before the mechanical receptacle 320 receives themechanical shape 310, all of the pins 321-325 extend above a baseline390 by a same amount. When the mechanical receptacle 320 receives themechanical shape 310, as shown in FIG. 3, each of the pins 321-325 isengaged with a respective slot of the slots 311-315. An end wall of eachof the slots 311-315 pushes the respective pin downward such that thepin extends above the baseline 390 by an amount defined by the depth ofthe respective slot. A force is exerted on each of the springs 361-365by the end wall of the respective slot pushing down the pin connected tothe respective spring. The shallower the depth of the respective slot,the stronger the force is exerted on the respective spring. Forinstance, the slot 314 is the shallowest slot among the slots 311-315,and thus the spring 364 experiences the largest force exerted thereonamong the springs 361-365. The slot 312 is the deepest slot among theslots 311-315, and thus the spring 362 experiences the slightest forceexerted thereon among the springs 361-365. Slot 311 and slot 315 have asame depth, and thus the springs 361 and 365 experience substantially asame amount of force. As shown in FIG. 3, each of the springs 361-365has one end connected to a respective one of the pins 321-325, and theother end connected to a respective one of five pressure sensors 371,372, 373, 374 and 375. The amount of force of each of the springs361-365 is sensed by the respective pressure sensor connected thereon.For instance, the pressure sensor 371 is configured to sense the forceexerted on the spring 361 due to the slot 311 pushing down the pin 321,thereby generating a pressure reading that represents the force.Similarly, each of the pressure sensors 372-375 reads the force exertedon the springs 362-365 in a same way. Consequently, when the mechanicalreceptacle 320 receives the mechanical shape 310, the readings of thepressure sensors 371-375 represent the depths of the slots 311-315,which collectively represent the subject identification. The mechanicalshape 310 and the mechanical receptacle 320 may be designed to engagewith one another only in one specific physical orientation such that thesubject identification is represented without any ambiguity. Forexample, in an event that the mechanical shape 310 is flippedhorizontally by 180 degrees, the mechanical receptacle 320 would notreceive the mechanical shape 310, thereby eliminating a possibility thatthe mechanical receptacle 320 detects the digits of the subjectidentification in reverse order.

Refer back to the illustrative details of the communication component200 of FIG. 2. The memory 250 includes programs or software proceduresthat, when executed by processor(s) 210, cause the communicationcomponent 200 to perform various functions described herein. As shown inFIG. 2, the memory 250 includes an operating system 251, which includescomponents that manage or otherwise coordinate processor(s) 210 withsoftware resources to perform various functions generally associatedwith a computer. In addition, the memory 250 stores a subjectidentification 256, which is a copy of the subject identificationobtained by the pairing module 230 in the pairing process with thesubject identifier component. For example, provided that thecommunication component 200 embodies the communication component 112,which is paired with the backpack 111, the subject identification 256 isthus a copy of the subject identification embedded in the backpack 111,which identifies the child 110. In an event that the pairing module 230additionally obtains a functionality profile from the subject identifiercomponent, the memory 250 also stores a copy of the functionalityprofile as a functionality profile 257. For example, provided that thecommunication component 200 embodies the communication component 122,which pairs with the aim band 121 that includes a functionality profile,the functionality profile 257 is thus a copy of the functionalityprofile. The functionality profile 257 may describe that the arm band121 is equipped with a vibration actuator, and the communicationcomponent 200 may accordingly trigger an action that can be performed bythe arm band 121 actuating the vibration actuator. In some embodiments,the subject identification 256 and the functionality profile 257 arepurged, i.e., reset to a null value, as soon as the communicationcomponent 200 becomes unpaired with the subject identifier component. Insome embodiments, the subject identification 256, along with thefunctionality profile 257, if applicable, remain stored in the memory250 even after the communication component 200 becomes unpaired with anysubject identifier component. The memory 250 of the unpairedcommunication component 200 can thus be checked to tell which trackingsubject the communication component 200 was most recently paired to. Thesubject identification 256 and the functionality profile 257 are thenreplaced, after the communication component 200 pairs with a new subjectidentifier component, by those of the new subject identifier component.

The memory 250 also includes a requirement cache 252, which storesrequirements associated with tracking subjects that the communicationcomponent 200 receives from the cellular network. For example, providedthat the communication component 200 embodies the communicationcomponent 122 disposed in the autonomous vehicle 126, the requirementcache 252 can store a destination and/or a bumpiness level for each ofthe various passengers the autonomous vehicle 126 has served. In anotherexample where the communication component 200 embodies the communicationcomponent 132, the requirement cache 252 thus stores the daily amount ofpet food prescribed to the pet 130. The requirement cache 252 may keep acopy of the requirements associated with a particular tracking subjecteven after the communication component 200 is unpaired with a subjectidentifier component that carries the subject identification of thetracking subject. Namely, the requirement cache 252 may storerequirements for more than one tracking subject, such as a set ofrequirements 253 for a subject A, and a set of requirements 254 for asubject B, and so on. For example, the communication component 200 mayfor one day be attached to the collar 131 worn by the pet 130, and forthe next day attached to the collar 141 worn by the pet 140. As aresult, the requirement cache 252 would store both the daily amount ofpet food prescribed to the pet 130 (which may be included in therequirements 253) as well as the daily amount of pet food prescribed tothe pet 140 (which may be included in the requirements 254). However, atmost only one set of requirements stored in the requirement cache 252,i.e., the set of requirements associated with the subject identified bythe subject identification carried by the subject identifier componentwith which the communication component 200 is currently paired, isactively used by the communication component 200.

As described elsewhere herein, requirements associated with a trackingsubject can be dynamically changed or updated by either the trackingsubject or a care giver. In example embodiments, the communicationcomponent 200 receives updated versions of the requirements associatedwith the tracking subject identified by the subject identification 256from the cellular network. The communication component 200 saves theupdated requirements in the requirement cache 252, and then operatesbased on the updated requirements. Nonetheless, there may be occasionswhere current or updated requirements are not readily or quicklyavailable to the communication component 200 (e.g., the communicationcomponent 200 happens to be located in an area that is not covered bythe cellular network). With the requirements saved in the requirementcache 252, regardless of whether those requirements are a most updatedversion or not, the communication component 200 can still operatecertain, if not all, tracking functions, even if the communicationcomponent 200 is temporarily out of range of the cellular network. Forexample, the driver 120 may drive the vehicle 126 to an area where thewireless connection 125 cannot be established, which results in thecommunication component 122 not being able to access the most updatedversion of the speed limits associated with the driver 120 that aresaved in the data store 171. The communication component 122, embodiedby the communication component 200, can still function based on thespeed limits associated with the driver 120 that are stored in therequirement cache 252 of the communication component 122 to advise thedriver 120 to drive under the speed limits.

The memory 250 further includes an action command generator 258, asoftware module which is capable of triggering an action based on thelocation information collected by the positioning module 240 as well asthe requirements stored in the requirement cache 252 that are associatedwith the tracking subject identified by the subject identification 256.The action command generator 258 is capable of generating a command toenable various actions to be performed as described elsewhere herein.The action command generator 258 of the communication component 112 mayfor example trigger the speaker of the communication component 112 togenerate the beeping sound to remind the child 110 as the child 110travels out of the geographical area 119. The action command generator258 of the communication component 122 may, for example, trigger theautonomous vehicle 126 to take the passenger 120 to a destination. Theaction command generator 258 of the communication component 132 may, forexample, trigger the pet food dispenser 136 to dispense a certain amountof pet food when the pet 130 has been within the proximity 139 for apredetermined period of time. In some embodiments, the action commandgenerator 258 may generate a command further based on a co-locationindication. For example, without the communication component 132receiving a co-location indication indicating that the pet 130 is stillwearing the collar 131, the action command generator 258 of thecommunication component 132 may generate a command that prevents the petfood dispenser 136 from dispensing further pet food.

The communication module 220 includes a transmitter 222 and a receiver226, through which the communication module 220 is able to establish awireless connection with a cellular network, such as the wirelessconnections 115, 125, 135 and 145 of FIG. 1. Via the wireless connectionestablished with the cellular network, the communication module 220 isable to exchange various data or information items with the cellularnetwork, including, for example, the subject identification 256, thefunctionality profile 257, one or more requirements stored in therequirement cache 252 that are associated with the tracking subjectidentified by the subject identification 256, the location informationcollected by the positioning module 240, an action indication, aco-location indication, and/or a low-battery indication. In someembodiments, the communication module 220 also transmits, via thewireless connection with the cellular network, a command to an apparatuscommunicatively coupled to the cellular network to trigger the apparatusto perform an action with respect to the tracking subject. In someembodiments, the communication module 220 may, also via the transmitter222 and the receiver 226, be capable of establishing a wirelessconnection with a wireless router, such as the wireless router 165.Moreover, the transmitter 222 and the receiver 226 may also enable thecommunication component 200 to communicate with the subject identifiercomponent, another communication component, or an apparatus locatedwithin a proximity of the communication component 200, via a P2P or ashort-range communication protocol.

The memory 250 optionally includes computer-readable storage media.Computer-readable storage media can include or encompasses volatile andnon-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in anymethod or technology for storage of information such ascomputer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, orother data. Computer-readable storage media includes, but is not limitedto, random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), electricallyerasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or othermemory technology, compact disk-read only memory (CD-ROM), digitalversatile disks (DVD), high-definition multimedia/data storage disks, orother optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic diskstorage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that canbe used to store information for access by a computing device. Asdefined herein, computer-readable storage media do not consist of, andare not formed exclusively by, modulated data signals, such as a carrierwave.

Example Process

FIG. 4 illustrates an example process 400 that encompasses embodimentsand tracking applications variously described herein. The process 400 isillustrated as a collection of blocks in a logical flow chart, whichrepresents a sequence of operations that can be implemented in hardware,software, or a combination thereof. In the context of software, theblocks represent computer-executable instructions that, when executed byone or more processors, perform the recited operations. Generally,computer-executable instructions may include routines, programs,objects, components, data structures, and the like that performparticular functions or implement particular abstract data types. Theorder in which the operations are described is not intended to beconstrued as a limitation, and any number of the described blocks can becombined in any order and/or in parallel to implement the process. Fordiscussion purposes, the process 400 is described with reference toFIGS. 1-3. Process 400 may include blocks 410, 420, 430, 440, 450 and460. Process 400 may begin at block 410.

At block 410, the process 400 involves pairing a communication componentwith a subject identifier component. As variously described elsewhereherein, in example embodiments the pairing may be initiated by thepairing module 230 of the communication component 200. The communicationcomponent may embody each of the communication components 112, 122, 132,and 142, which are paired with the subject identifier component 111,121, 131, and 141, respectively. Block 410 includes a sub-block 412, atwhich the process 400 involves the communication component obtaining asubject identification from the subject identifier component. Thesubject identification identifies a tracking subject with which thecommunication component and the subject identifier component areco-located. For example, during the process of pairing with the backpack111, the communication component 112 obtains from the backpack 111 asubject identification that identifies the child 110. As a result, acopy of the subject identification is saved in the memory 250 of thecommunication component 112 as the subject identification 256. In someembodiments, block 410 may also include a sub-block 414, at which theprocess 400 involves the communication component obtaining afunctionality profile from the subject identifier component. Thefunctionality profile describes various functionalities of the subjectidentifier component. For example, the backpack 111 can be equipped witha powerful speaker, and thus includes a functionality profile thatdescribe the power speaker. During the process of pairing with thebackpack 111, the communication component 112 obtains from the backpack111 functionality profile and saves the functionality profile in thememory 250 of the communication component 112 as the functionalityprofile 257. Process 400 may proceed from block 410 to block 420.

At block 420, the process 400 involves transmitting the subjectidentification, either by itself or along with the functionalityprofile, to a cellular network. As variously described elsewhere herein,in example embodiments a wireless connection to the cellular network canbe established by the communication module 220. The wireless connectioncan be used via the transmitter 222 to transmit the subjectidentification 256 and the functionality profile 257 to the cellularnetwork. For example, the communication component 112, via the wirelessconnection 115 established between the communication component 112 and acellular network, transmits the subject identification that identifiesthe child 110 to the tracking server 170, which is part of the cellularnetwork. In some embodiments, the communication component 112 may alsotransmit the functionality profile that described the powerful speakerto the tracking server 170. Process 400 may proceed from block 420 toblock 430.

At block 430, the process 400 involves receiving from the cellularnetwork one or more requirements associated with the tracking subjectbased on the subject identification. As variously described elsewhereherein, in example embodiments one or more tracking requirements areassociated with each tracking subject. The tracking requirements may besaved in a data store of the cellular network prior to the tracking, andthen downloaded to the tracking device for tracking the subject. Forexample, based on the subject identification that identifies the child110, which has been transmitted from the communication component 112,the tracking server 170 can query the data store 171 to fetch a set ofrequirements associated with the child 110. The communication componentsubsequently receives the set of requirements from the tracking server170. The set of requirements may include the geographical area 119within which the child is allowed or expected to travel on a school day.The set of requirements may also include the instruction to command thecommunication component 112 to generate a reminder to the child 110 inan event that the child 110 travels outside the geographical area 119.In some embodiments, block 430 may also include a sub-block 432, atwhich the process 400 involves the communication component receiving theset of requirements that is further based on the functionality profile.For example, the set of requirements the communication componentreceives may include an instruction to generate a loud siren using thepowerful speaker included in the backpack 111 in an event that the child110 is possibly subjected to a dangerous situation such as a verticalfall. Process 400 may proceed from block 430 to block 440.

At block 440, the process 400 involves the communication componenttransmitting location information of the communication component to thecellular network. As variously described elsewhere herein, in exampleembodiments the location information can include an immediategeolocation of the communication component, as well as a motion patternof the communication component. In example embodiments where thecommunication component is embodied by the communication component 200,the location information can be collected by the positioning module 240.Specifically, the geolocation can be detected using one or more of theGPS receivers 241, the cellular positioning component 242, and the WPSlocator 243. The motion pattern can be determined based on input fromthe accelerometers 244 and the gyroscopes 245. The communicationcomponent 200 can transmit the location information to the cellularnetwork using the communication module 220. The location information canbe transmitted in accordance with a pre-established or updated protocol,e.g., on a periodic basis and/or in response to various internal and/orenvironmental conditions. For example, whenever the wireless connection115 is established, the communication component 112 may transmit thelocation information of the communication component 112 to the trackingserver 170 on a periodic basis when the child 110 travels outside thegeographical area 119. The location information is a closerepresentation of the geolocation and the motion pattern of the child110. Process 400 may proceed from block 440 to block 450.

At block 450, the process 400 involves triggering an action based on thelocation information as well as the one or more requirements received atblock 430. Block 450 includes sub-blocks 452 and 454. At sub-block 452,the process 400 involves the communication component determining anaction based on the location information and the one or morerequirements. At sub-block 454, the process 400 involves performing theaction determined at sub-block 452 by the communication component, thesubject identifier component, or an environment within which thetracking subject is located. For example, in response to the locationinformation collected by the communication component 112 indicating thatthe child 110 is traveling outside the geographical area 119, thecommunication component 112 determines that a reminding beeping sound isto be generated, and subsequently generates the beeping sound using aspeaker equipped on the communication component 112. As another example,in response to the location information collected by the communicationcomponent 112 indicating that the child 110 has just experienced a largevertical fall, the communication component 112 determines to use thepowerful speaker of the backpack 111 to generate a loud siren, andsubsequently sends a command to the backpack 111 to generate the loudsiren using the powerful speaker. As yet another example, in response tothe location information collected by the communication component 132indicating that the pet 130 has been within the proximity 139 for apredetermined period of time, the communication component 132 determinesto use the pet food dispenser 136 to dispense an amount of pet food, andsubsequently sends a command to the pet food dispenser 136 to dispensethe amount of pet food. Process 400 may proceed from block 450 to block460.

At block 460, the process 400 involves the communication componenttransmitting an action indication to the cellular network, wherein theaction indication indicates the triggering of the action as determinedin sub-block 452. For example, after the communication component 132triggers the pet food dispenser 136 to dispense the amount of pet food,the communication component 132 subsequently sends to the trackingserver 170 an action indication indicating that the amount of pet foodhas been dispensed with the pet 130 within the proximity 139. Process400 may return from block 460 to block 440 for continuing tracking thetracking subject.

Various embodiments described herein provide technical advantages thatenable greater and more flexible functionalities to be provided intracking one or more subjects with higher efficiency and lower operationcost. Specifically, a modular tracking device according to the presentdisclosure is formed by pairing a generic communication component with asubject-specific subject identifier component. This feature enables ahigher efficiency of tracking multiple subjects, especially a largenumber of subjects (e.g., cattle or hundreds of cows), due to theflexibility of being able to arbitrarily pair up multiple genericcommunication components with multiple subject identifier components.This feature also enables a higher efficiency of operation by minimizingdowntime due to recharging the battery of the communication component,because a communication component that runs out of battery can be freelyreplaced by another communication component that is already fullycharged. Moreover, this feature enables a user to reduce a cost ofoperation if a user has various (i.e., two or more) subjects to trackbut only needs to track one of them at any given time. This is becausein example embodiments, a subject identifier component can simplyinclude a passive memory store of a subject identification, for example,a RFID or NFC tag, that requires no battery power, and thus can be madevery cheap and light-weight. The user therefore only needs to own asingle communication component which, despite a possibly higher cost dueto various hardware and software components included therein, is able topair with various subject identifier components to track the varioussubjects, not to mention that for each of the various subjects thetracking device can be customized to fulfill specific trackingrequirements associated with the particular subject by receiving thetracking requirements through a cellular network.

From a device manufacturer's standpoint, the two-component trackingdevice provides great economic benefits in reducing the cost fordeveloping various tracking devices. Specifically, there is no need tocertify each of the various tracking devices individually. A devicemanufacturer of the two-component tracking devices only needs to spendefforts and costs for developing communication components, such asobtaining various industrial standard certifications. The certifiedcommunication component(s), being generic, can thus pair with many kindsof subject identifier components, for which industrial standardcertifications are usually not required, to form various kinds ofmodular tracking products capable of tracking different kinds ofsubjects.

CONCLUSION

Although the subject matter has been described in language specific tostructural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understoodthat the subject matter defined in the appended claims is notnecessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above.Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed asexample forms of implementing the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for monitoring a location of a trackingsubject using a tracking device comprising a communication component anda subject identifier component paired with one another, comprising:pairing the communication component with the subject identifiercomponent, both the communication component and the subject identifiercomponent being co-located with the tracking subject, the communicationcomponent capable of establishing a wireless connection with a trackingserver using a cellular network, the communication component alsocapable of collecting location information of the communicationcomponent, the subject identifier component comprising a subjectidentification that identifies the tracking subject; in response topairing the communication component with the subject identifiercomponent, determining, by the communication component, the subjectidentification that identifies the tracking subject based on the subjectidentifier component; in response to pairing the communication componentwith the subject identifier component, transmitting, by thecommunication component to the tracking server via the cellular network,the subject identification; in response to transmitting the subjectidentification to the tracking server, receiving, by the communicationcomponent and from the tracking server using the wireless connection viathe cellular network, one or more requirements corresponding to alocation associated with the tracking subject based on the subjectidentification; and triggering, by the communication component, anaction based on the location information collected by the communicationcomponent and the one or more requirements, the action performed by thecommunication component, the subject identifier component, or anenvironment within which the tracking subject is located.
 2. The methodof claim 1, wherein the communication component does not comprise thesubject identification that identifies the tracking subject.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the pairing of the communication componentwith the subject identifier comprises obtaining, by the communicationcomponent from the subject identifier component, the subjectidentification.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:transmitting, from the communication component to the tracking serverusing the wireless connection via the cellular network, the locationinformation; and transmitting, from the communication component to thetracking server using the wireless connection via the cellular network,an action indication indicating the triggering of the action.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, wherein: the tracking subject is a child; the subjectidentifier component comprises a backpack carried by the child; the oneor more requirements comprise a predetermined geographical area withinwhich the child is expected to travel within; the communicationcomponent or the backpack comprises a speaker; and the action comprisesthe speaker generating an alert sound in response to the communicationcomponent traveling outside the predetermined geographical area.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, wherein: the tracking subject is a pet; the subjectidentifier component is a collar worn by the pet; the one or morerequirements comprise a daily amount of pet food prescribed to the pet;the environment comprises a pet food dispenser; the action comprises thepet food dispenser dispensing an amount of pet food according to thedaily amount of pet food prescribed to the pet; and the triggering ofthe action comprises sending a command from the communication componentto the pet food dispenser in response to the pet being within apredetermined proximity of the pet food dispenser.
 7. The method ofclaim 1, wherein: the subject identifier component is associated with afunctionality profile describing a plurality of functionalities of thesubject identifier component, and the one or more requirements are basedfurther on the functionality profile.
 8. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: obtaining, by the communication component, a co-locationindication indicating the tracking subject remains co-located with thecommunication component and the subject identifier component, whereinthe triggering of the action is based further on the co-locationindication.
 9. The method of claim 8, further comprising: sensing, bythe communication component, the physiological sign of the trackingsubject, or receiving, by the communication component and from thesubject identifier component, the physiological sign of the trackingsubject, wherein the co-location indication comprises the physiologicalsign.
 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising: transmitting, fromthe communication component to the tracking server using the wirelessconnection via the cellular network, a low-battery indication inresponse to the communication component or the subject identifiercomponent having a low battery level.
 11. The method of claim 1, whereinthe communication component comprises a global positioning system (GPS)receiver for collecting the location information of the communicationcomponent.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the location informationcomprises a motion pattern of the communication component, and whereinthe communication component comprises an accelerometer, a gyroscope, orboth, for detecting the motion pattern.
 13. The method of claim 1,wherein: the subject identifier component comprises a radio-frequencyidentification (RFID) tag or a near-field communication (NFC) tag, theRFID tag or the NFC tag indicating the subject identification; thecommunication component comprises a RFID reader or an NFC reader; andthe pairing comprises the RFID reader or the NFC reader scanning theRFID tag or the NFC tag to acquire the subject identification.
 14. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the pairing comprises receiving, by thecommunication component and from the subject identifier component, thesubject identification via a Bluetooth® low energy (BLE) communicationlink.
 15. The method of claim 1, wherein: the subject identifiercomponent comprises a mechanical shape configured to represent thesubject identification, the communication component comprises asub-component configured to receive the mechanical shape, and thepairing comprises the communication component acquiring the subjectidentification by using the sub-component to physically receive themechanical shape.
 16. A communication component of a tracking devicecomprising the communication component and a subject identifiercomponent paired with one another for monitoring a location of atracking subject, both the communication component and the subjectidentifier component being co-located with the tracking subject, thecommunication component comprising: one or more processors; acommunication module capable of establishing a wireless connection witha tracking server using a cellular network; a pairing module capable ofpairing with the subject identifier component; a positioning modulecapable of collecting location information of the communicationcomponent; a portable power source; and a memory having instructionsstored therein, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one ormore processors, cause the one or more processors to: receive, from thepairing module, data indicating that the communication component ispaired with the subject identifier component; in response to receivingthe data indicating that the communication component is paired with thesubject identifier component, obtain a subject identification from thesubject identifier component via the pairing module, the subjectidentification identifying the tracking subject; in response toreceiving the data indicating that the communication component is pairedwith the subject identifier component, transmit the subjectidentification to the tracking server using the cellular network via thewireless connection; in response to transmitting the subjectidentification to the tracking server, receive from the tracking server,one or more requirements corresponding to the location associated withthe tracking subject from the cellular network via the wirelessconnection; determine an action based on the one or more requirementsand the location information, the action configured to be performed bythe communication component, the subject identifier component, or anenvironment within which the tracking subject is located; and performthe action or transmit a command to the subject identifier component orthe environment to perform the action.
 17. The communication componentof claim 16, further comprising: one or more actuators capable ofperforming the action.
 18. The communication component of claim 16,wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to:obtain a functionality profile from the subject identifier component viathe pairing module, the functionality profile describing a plurality offunctionalities of the subject identifier component; and transmit thefunctionality profile to the tracking server using the cellular networkvia the wireless connection.
 19. The communication component of claim16, wherein: the pairing module comprises a short-range transceivercapable of establishing a short-range communication link with thesubject identifier component, and the short-range communication linkemploys a radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology, a near-fieldcommunication (NFC) technology, or a Bluetooth® low energy (BLE)communication technology.